Parent hopes Sesame Street's new autistic character breaks down barriers

Parents are reacting to news that "Sesame Street" has introduced a new autistic character, "Julia."

One Cape Coral mom said it's about time because there needs to be a change in the way kids with autism are treated.

Tabitha Keller's son Trent was diagnosed with autism when he was four. She has learned much from her son in the six years since, but she finds many kids and adults are still in the dark about autism.

"I think the parents are fearful to put them out there and then the kids are fearful because it's something different because they haven't been exposed to that until maybe an older age and by that point, they react differently," she said.

"Sesame Street" hopes to change that by adding an autistic character to their cast. Julia has orange hair and loves her rabbit.

Keller can't help but wonder why it took so long for an autistic character to debut on kids' TV.

"Overdue? Yes. I think that there's always room for improvement, but I have to commend 'Sesame Street' for taking this on and moving forward with it because we really haven't seen a lot of that exposure on TV."

"Sesame Street" said Julia is an opportunity to educate people, and local author and nurse practitioner Sherri Campbell said we could all learn something from her.

"One of the greatest misconceptions is that children with autism don't desire friends and I think it's because they have social issues."

One out of every 68 kids is born with autism, which is why Keller and Campbell have high hopes for Julia.

"The earlier we start to embrace each other's uniqueness, the better off the world will be," Campbell said.

"If this generation and the next generation to the next generation gets more exposure at an early age, then kids might not be so fearful to engage this population that's growing and growing," Keller said.

Get More: Special characters

Sesame Street has featured a number of special needs Muppets over the years.

Aristotle was a blind Muppet introduced in 1982.

A wheelchair-bound Muppet, Katie, made her debut on the Canadian Sesame Street in 1988.

The show has also featured human characters who were deaf, used wheelchairs, or had down syndrome.

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